3 A Hint of Cinnamon and Ice
Suddenly, a deep sound vibrated through the ice—the melancholic song of the humpback whales. It was a distant call, an echo of ancient stories rising from the depths of the ocean. Koda perked up his ears, his heart beating faster. The whales had returned, and their song was a call he had to follow. His mother had told him about the Humpbacks and that not every bear can hear or see them. Koda knows that humans can’t hear the songs of the humpbacks, or the ice. But maybe this woman is finding her way, she seems to know the right path. Koda scratched the ice with his long claws. Lianna sensed his tension—as if something was pulling him away. “Do you have to go?” she asked, her voice carrying a hint of longing. Koda stood up on his back legs and sniffed the air, he could smell her tea and parfume, the cinnamon. And before he knew it, she turned around and grabbed her camera to take his image. Koda looked at her, their eyes meeting in a moment of understanding. In his clear, deep eyes, the moon was reflected. Then he turned and placed his paws on the ice, his body merging with the white landscape as he walked away. His breath misted in the cold air as he took one step, then another, as the pull of the whales’ song grew stronger. Lianna watched him until he disappeared into the darkness. A bitter- sweet pain filled her—the beauty of an encounter that lasted only a moment but would echo for a lifetime. She pulled out her sketchbook and added a delicate line: the silhouette of a polar bear wandering into the infinity of the ice. “Maybe,” she whispered, “we’ll meet again and you can tell me your story.” As Christmas approached, the crew decorated the ship with warm, glowing lights that sparkled like stars in the darkness. Lianna stood at the
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NANUK’S WEIHNACHTSGESCHICHTEN
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